The Animal Law Podcast - Animal Law Podcast #85: Desmond’s Law

Animal Law Podcast #85: Desmond’s Law

06/29/22 • 68 min

On this episode I will be speaking with Jessica Rubin, who is the Associate Dean of Experiential Learning and the Director of the Animal Law Clinic at the University of Connecticut School of Law. She will be discussing a Connecticut law, called Desmond’s Law, which allows law students, and lawyers, to be appointed to assist the court in certain animal cruelty cases in the hopes that these cases, which are often factually complex and not well-resourced, receive the attention they deserve. She’ll also tell us about the Animal Law Clinic, which trains and supports students involved in this work.

Plus, before we get to that interview, we also so fortunate to have Sherry Colb and Michael Dorf, both professors at Cornell Law School who you have heard from before on the Animal Law Podcast, as well as on the Our Hen House podcast, for a quick conversation about the Happy the Elephant case brought by the Nonhuman Rights Project, which, as you probably know, was recently decided in the New York Court of Appeals.

*We are thrilled to expand the accessibility of our podcast by offering written transcripts of the interviews! Click here to read Mariann’s interviews with Jessica Rubin and Sherry Colb & Michael Dorf.

Professor Jessica Rubin is the Associate Dean of Experiential Learning and the Director of the Animal Law Clinic at the University of Connecticut School of Law. She was instrumental in creating Desmond’s Law, which allows Connecticut courts to appoint advocates—law students under supervision—in animal cruelty cases. Professor Rubin actively supervises students and appears in court to advocate for justice in cases of animal cruelty. She created UConn Law School’s Animal Law Clinic, a clinic through which students appear in state courts as advocates under Desmond’s Law. She is widely regarded as an expert in the field of animal law and is a graduate of Cornell University and the Cornell Law School. Professor Rubin has taught in Istanbul, Turkey for the Open Society Foundation, and in Seoul, South Korea. In both locations, she supplemented her teaching activities with local stray animal rescue and relocation efforts.

Sherry F. Colb earned an A.B. from Columbia College (Valedictorian) and a J.D. from Harvard Law School. Before joining the Rutgers University faculty, she clerked for Associate Justice Harry A. Blackmun of the United States Supreme Court. She is currently the C.S. Wong Professor of Law at Cornell University. She has co-authored a book about the connection between animal rights and zygote rights, Beating Hearts: Abortion and Animal Rights, and a book about animal rights, Mind If I Order the Cheeseburger? And Other Questions People Ask Vegans. She composes a bi-weekly column on Justia’s Verdict as well as regular posts on the blog, Dorf on Law.

Michael C. Dorf is the Robert S. Stevens Professor of Law at Cornell Law School, where he teaches constitutional law, federal courts, and related subjects. He has authored or co-authored six books (including, with Sherry Colb, Beating Hearts: Abortion and Animal Rights)and over one hundred scholarly articles and essays for law journals and peer-reviewed science and social science journals. He also frequently writes for the general public. In addition to occasional contributions to The New York Times, USA Today, CNN.com, The Los Angeles Times, and other wide-circulation publications, Professor Dorf has been writing a bi-weekly column since 2000 and publishes a popular blog, Dorf on Law. Dorf received his undergraduate and law degrees from Harvard. He served as a law clerk for Judge Stephen Reinhardt of the U.S. Cour...

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Animal Law Podcast #84: The Case of the (Un)Ethical Eggs

On this episode I will be talking to Asher Smith, who is the Director of Litigation at the PETA Foundation, about Usler v Vital Farms, which is a class action against an egg facility which makes some very elaborate claims about how well they are treating their hens (“our girls!”) and charges their customers a hefty premium for doing so. So, guess what? Shockingly, their chickens appear to be living miserable, short, overcrowded lives that are nothing like the bucolic heaven that customers were told about. This is one of a number of recent class actions against so-called “humane” egg farms, and it’s hugely important.

*We are thrilled to expand the accessibility of our podcast by offering written transcripts of the interviews! Click here to read Mariann’s interview with Asher Smith*

Asher Smith is Director of Litigation at the PETA Foundation. His current cases include actions under the Endangered Species Act against roadside zoos abusively keeping protected animals, constitutional lawsuits on behalf of both animals and humans, and false advertising claims challenging the deceptive marketing of animal products as “humane.” He has previously won precedent-setting victories against multiple exhibitors featured on the Netflix show Tiger King, as well as Vital Farms and Pete and Gerry’s Organics, the seller of Nellie’s Free Range Eggs. Smith joined the PETA Foundation in 2018 after working for the law firm Paul, Weiss on matters including multibillion-dollar securities litigation and the fight for gay marriage in the deep south and at the Supreme Court. He is a graduate of Yale Law School. His family includes a cat, Princessa, and a dog, Beezus.

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This episode of The Animal Law Podcast is brought to you in part by The Animal Law Conference. Co-hosted by the Animal Legal Defense Fund and the Center for Animal Law Studies at Lewis and Clark Law School — this year’s conference marks the thirtieth anniversary of this premier animal law event. Save the date for November 4-6, 2022!

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The Animal Law Podcast is proud to partner with The Brooks Institute for Animal Rights Law and Policy, Inc., a US-based national independent think tank pursuing a paradigm shift in human responsibility towards, and value of, non-human animals by advancing animal law, animal policy, and related interdisciplinary studies.

As the Animal Law Podcast 2021 Exclusive Sponsor, the The Brooks Institute for Animal Rights Law and Policy, Inc is dedicated to producing and disseminating outstanding, independent, academic, and public policy research and programming; and pursuing projects and initiatives focused on advancing law and policy pertaining to animals.

The Brooks Institute for Animal Rights Law and Policy is excited to share a new FREE resource: The Brooks Animal Law Digest – CANADA EDITION! This premier online publication offers in-depth and up-to-date coverage on Canada’s most important animal law and policy issues. It is published twice monthly as a collaborative effort with the University of Toronto Faculty of Law’s research support.

Like the Brooks Animal Law Digest – US Edition, the Canadian Digest serves as a resource for anyone interested in learning more about the field of animal law – either as a high-level overview of developments, or as a jumping off point for digging into a specific current issue in the field. All content will be accessible on the Brooks Institute website and spotlights via email twice monthly.

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Animal Law Podcast #86: A Case of (Un)”Sustainable” Salmon

It’s become pretty clear that the more that meat-eating consumers find out about how the animals they eat were treated, the more temptation there is for the industry to, shall we say, fudge the truth. Thus, today I will be talking to Dije Ndreu and Brooke Dekolf of Richman Law and Policy about two cases they are currently litigating regarding the “sustainability” claims being made by Aldi Grocery Stores regarding the salmon Aldi sells in its stores. These cases are based on some compelling evidence that what Aldi means when it says “sustainable” isn’t remotely similar to the expansive meaning that most people give it. Dije and Brooke will also explain why there are two cases — one in federal court in Illinois and one in Superior Court of the District of Columbia —, why the conditions in which these salmon live and die are so dreadful both for the environment and for the salmon themselves, what the prospects are for attorney’s fees, and how consumer protection law is becoming such an important tool for those seeking to use the law to address what we are doing to animals, including aquatic ones.

*We are thrilled to expand the accessibility of our podcast by offering written transcripts of the interviews! Click here to read Mariann’s interview with Dije Ndreu & Brooke Dekolf.

Dije Ndreu recently joined Richman Law & Policy as Senior Associate. Her work focuses on protecting consumers from false advertising related to animal welfare. Before joining RLP, Dije served for more than a decade as a consumer and environmental protection prosecutor in the Monterey County District Attorney’s Office in California. There she brought civil unfair competition cases against violators ranging from small local entities to large national corporations. She prosecuted greenwashing and other false advertising actions and handled hazardous waste, water pollution, asbestos, pesticide exposure, and other environmental cases. Prior to her career in law, Dije worked as a chemist and environmental manager, specializing in water quality. Dije received her J.D. from Golden Gate University School of Law in 2007, and also has B.S. and M.S. degrees in chemistry from U.C. Santa Cruz and U.C. San Diego, respectively. Vegan since 2005, Dije lives with her husband, two children, and two cats.

Brooke Dekolf is an Associate and Animal Welfare Fellow at Richman Law & Policy. She focuses on animal welfare litigation with a particular emphasis on accountability and transparency in aquaculture. Previously, she was a fellow for the Law, Ethics & Animals Program, served as a director for the 2020 Rebellious Lawyering Conference, and worked as an intern for Legal Services of New Jersey and the American Civil Libertes Union Reproductive Freedom Project. Brooke received her J.D. from Yale Law School in 2021, and a B.A. in English and Women’s and Gender Studies from Rutgers University in 2017. During her free time, she enjoys walking New York City with her dog, Saint.

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